The good news is that of the 11 MLS postseason games, 10 will be televised nationally. The bad news is that after a regular season that produced a meager 2.54 goals per game, keeping a national audience captivated, or at least tuned in, if goals are scarce won't be easy. There can be all manner of previews and pre-game hits and studio segments, but the game itself needs as much drama as possible, and that can only be guaranteed by goals, or at least the threat of same.

It's too easy to cite a team's failures on the final weekend of the regular season as primary reasons said team missed out on playoff action, so instead, here's a look on what transpired on the previous 31 weeks to create those no-tomorrow scenarios:

Whether or not MLS has let a potentially great head coach slip away with the departure of Paul Mariner back to his native England is open to debate, but what the league and this country have lost is a good chunk of institutional knowledge.

For a few MLS teams, the playoff race has become a lurching stagger, more a case of "The Biggest Loser" than "Quest for Qwest Field," or whatever postseason marketing slogan the league and ESPN will unveil in a week or so. (MLS Cup 2009 will be played in Seattle Nov. 22)

International travel is a luxury for most people, so when players who must cross time zones and continents to play for their clubs or national teams complain about fatigue and jet lag they don't always generate a lot of sympathy.